Insulated railway-rail joint.



No. 779,066. PATENTEB JAN. 3, 1905.

B. BRAINE. i INSULATED RAILWAY RAIL JOINT.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 29, 1904.

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UNITED STATES Patented January 3, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

BANOROFT G. BRAINE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE CON- TINUOUS RAIL JOINT COMPANY OF AMERICA, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

INSU LATED RAILWAY-RAIL JOINT..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 779,066, dated January 3,' 1905.

i Application filed March 29, 1904. serial No. 200,549.

To (LZZ whom, it may concern:

lthis specification.

The objects of this invention are to secure greater' durability in an insulated rail-joint, and more particularly to increase the effective lifetime ot' the insulating material employed in said insulated joint; to reduce the cost ot' construction, and to secure other advantages and results, some of which may be referred to hereinafter in connection with the description of the working parts.

The invention consists in the improved insulated rail-joint and in the arrangements and lcombinations of parts of the same, all substantially as will be hereinafter set forth, and {inally embraced in the clauses of the claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in each of the figures, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a rail-joint of my improved construction, and Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same, taken at line In said drawings, 10 indicates a railwayrail of any suitable construction having a head 11, web 12, and base-flange 13.

14 indicates the connecting-plates, which may be'splice-bars, angle-bars, or connectingplates or' the Lcontinuous type, having the particular shape shown in Fig. 1.

15 indicates the bolts by means of which the rails and connecting-plates are firmly joined together, the bolts being suitably insulated in any proper manner to prevent the flow of electricity from one connecting-plate to the other.

The joint between the rails 10 10 is properly insulated, as at 16, and at the opposite sides of said insulated joint 16 and on the opposite sides of the said rails 10 are arranged metallic supporting-plates 17, which are pret'- erably sheet metal longitudinally bent by means of rolls or other formers, so as to enter between the bearings 19 2O at the under sides of the heads of therails and at the upper edges of the connecting-plates 14 14 and between the base-flanges 13 ot' the rails and the bearings 21 22, forming the upper and lower walls of the flaring grooves 23, lying near the bases of the connecting-plates of the continuous type, the said flaring grooves 23 in the connecting-plates being of relatively greater size or capacity than. heretofore to enable the said plates 17 and the insulation 24 to be inserted therein between said connecting- Y plates and the flanges of the rails. The plates 17 17 do not extend up close to the joint 16, but only sulliciently near to the terminal extremities of the rails to support the latter or prevent any undue depression of the rails due to the hammering of said rails, it being understood that by such hammering by the passing train the smoothness of the road is greatly impaired. Said plates terminate one-haltl inch more or less short of or back from the extremities of the rail, as indicated in Fig. 2, to enable an extra thickness of insulation to be inserted at the joint, as at 25. This extra thickness may be and preferably is of ahigher grade of insulation, capacity considered, than the insulation lining the outer sides of the plates 17. Thus at the extremities of the rails where there is more or less of movement at the passing of the train the insulation is made of a more durable quality, and incidentally of a material involving increased cost, while at the larger surfaces between the plate 17 and the connecting-plates 14 the insulation may be of an inferior grade or of a less expensive material or ot' a thinner sheet of expensive material, the said plates 17 protecting the insulation from the longitudinal working of the rails and the consequent frictional rubbing and wear. Thus the thin or cheap or inferior insulation is rendered durable because of the protection afforded by the plate 17 or a high class of insulation is rendered Inore durable and the lifetime of the joint is lengthened, as will be apparent. I prefer to extend the plates 17 at the top, as indicatedl at 26, to form a drip projection by means of which water is prevented from running down into the joints between the insulation and contiguous parts to the detriment of the insulation, both as to durability and capacity for preventing thev flow of the electrical current.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new is- 1. The improved insulated rail-joint, comprising the rails, connecting-plates and bolts, insulation interposed between said rails and connecting-plates and protecting-.plates interposed between the rails and insulation, substantially as set forth.V

2. The improved insulated rail-joint, comprising the rails, connecting-plates, insulation and bolts, of protecting-plates interposed between said insulation and rails at opposite sides of the joint between the rails, substantially as set forth.'

3. The improved insulated rail-joint, comprising the rails, connectingplates, insulation and bolts, of protecting plates interposed between said insulation and rails at opposite sides of the joint between the rails, said protecting-plates having at the top outward bends to lie against the under side of the head of the rail, substantially as set forth.

4. The improved insulated rail-joint, comprising the rails, connecting-plates, insulation and bolts, of protectingplates interposed between said insulation and rails at opposite sides of the joint between the rails, said protecting-plates having at the top outward bends and at the bottom iiaring bends to extend around the flange of the rail, substantially as set forth.

5. In an insulated rail-joint, the combination with the rails, of a connecting-plate having a drip projection at its upper edge, insulation interposed between the railand connecting-plate and protected by said drip projection, and bolts, substantially as set forth.

6. The improved insulated rail-joint, cornprising rails, connectingplates and bolts, sheets of insulation arranged between the connecting-plates and the said rails, and protecting-plates between said insulation and the rails, and insulation interposed between the ends of the rails and between the ends of said protecting-plates at the joint formed between the said ends of the rails.

7. The improved'insulated rail-joint herein described, comprising the rails, connectingplates and bolts for joining said connectingplates and rails, an insulation inserted between said rails, and insulation inserted between said rails and the said connectingplates, and protecting-plates interposed between the rails and the last said insulation.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 16th day of March, 1904.

BANCROFT G. BRAINE.

Witnesses:

CHARLES H. PELL, RUSSELL M. EVERETT. 

